2018/19 Newsblog Term 3 Week 4

Hello All

A shorter blog this week. Thank you for your understanding and supportive messages re the snow closure and updates; it’s always a difficult decision about whether to open or close and the safety and well-being of all members of our school community is paramount. Hopefully our clearance team have had a good session this afternoon (Sunday) and that, combined with the warmer weather, will mean the site is safe for all tomorrow.

In the blog this week:-

Term 3 and 4 dates

Spirituality and Well-being through the Arts Week

Snow Update

Storytelling session photos

Things of Interest in the Community

Term 3   2018/19
Date	Time	Event
4 - 8/2/19		Spirituality and Well-being through the Arts – a week of focused activities for the children – see below for information
5/2/19	8:45 – 10:00	First session of Tadpole Farm's YN/YR Coffee Mornings. will run from 8.45am - 10.00am on Tuesday - 5/2, 12/2, 26/2, 5/3, 12/3 and 19/3. See previous blog for details
5/2/19	15.00-18.00	Swindon Dance Festival – details have been shared with parents
5/2/19		Parent Consultation Meeting Sign up opens
7/2/19	15.30-16.30	Y5/6 Football: TF v Abbeymeads
7/2/19		Parent Consultation Meeting Sign up closes
13/2/19		Parent Consultation Meeting times confirmed
15/2/19	13.00-15.00	Y5/6 Girls Football tournament – details to follow
15/2/19		Last day of term 3 – normal finish time YN/YR Superhero Dress up Day
18/2/19-22/2/19		School closed – February holiday Ready, Steady Read sponsored event

Term 4  2018/19
Date	Time	Event
No Staff Training Days in T4 – all children back on first day. Please note that some children will be attending Forest School this term – parents will be sent emails with group lists and dates before the end of term.
25/2/19		Children return to school
25/2/19	14.30-16.30	Selected Y5 children to take part in Mini Police sessions
26/2/19	18.00-19.00	Parent Forum – a sign-up sheet will be sent out nearer to the event
27/2/19		NO Y2 Swimming
4/3/19		Clubs start this week and will run in weeks beginning 4/3, 11/3, 18/3 & 25/3. No clubs on w/b 24/2 or 1/4 due to show me sessions.
5/3/19	15.30-19.00	Parent Consultation Meetings
6/3/19		Y2 Swimming begins
7/3/19	15.30-19.00	Parent Consultation Meetings
11/3/19		Science Week in school
12/3/19- 15/3/19	15.30-16.00	Book Fayre – to be held near the school office & Y5/6 area
14/3/19	18.00-19.00	Parent Workshop - Health & Wellbeing
15/3/19		Red Nose Day – Red Noses will be available in school and can be purchased via Parent Pay
20/3/19	19:00	FOTF Quiz night – details to follow
25/3/19	14.30-16.30	Selected Y5 children to take part in Mini Police sessions
1/4/19		‘Show me’ sessions – Monday 1/4 classrooms open 3:30 – 5:30; Tuesday 2/4 classrooms open 3:30 – 4:30  Children in YN times are: Tuesday & Thursday 8.40-9.10 for those in morning sessions and 12.20-12.50 for afternoon sessions. Parental access to Tapestry for YN and YR children and Seesaw for Y1/2/3/4/5 children until end of February holiday.
5/4/19		Last day of term 4 – normal finish time
8/4/19-22/4/19		School closed – Easter holiday Monday 22/4/19 is a Bank Holiday
16/4/19		Offer Day for YR September starters
23/4/19		Children return to school – Tuesday

Spirituality and Well-being through the Arts Week

Across the year we have a number of different focus weeks and this term our focus week is Spirituality and Well-being through the Arts. This coincides with Children’s Mental Health Week too, which will be part of our focus for whole school and class/house worship this week; linked to our value of thankfulness by considering how we are thankful to have the people in our lives who help to cheer us up when we are not feeling happy. If you would like to find out more about Children’s Mental Health Week there are some excellent resources and information on https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/parents-and-carers/

During this coming week the whole school is working together on a number of projects, with each class taking one part of the project as a focus. The overarching theme is to bring alive the wonder of creation and how appreciation of the world can bring spiritual and mental well-being. This will be done through creating an art installation to depict the Creation Story; the same theme is explored via drama and contemporary dance; a walk-through school performance of ‘This is Me’ sung as a round with every class involved and a philosophical based debate around the text of “If the World were a Village’. We were also due to be creating a whole school mosaic welcome sign, funded by FOTF, but this will now take place next week due to the artist involved having a family emergency.

In the past we have invited you in for a showcase on the Friday but as the school has grown this is tricky in terms of space, so we will be filming everything and creating film montages to share on the website. The advantage is that then you can share the links with family and friends so hopefully more people can enjoy experiencing the outcomes the children have created. It promises to be a thought-provoking and exciting week.

Snow Update

Thank you for your patience and understanding this week. Thank you also to the many people who have offered to go to school on Sunday afternoon 1 – 3pm to help clear the site of any remaining snow. We hope you found the email updates timely and the information accessible and clear. Any feedback you have is always welcome.